the red queen
by theredqueenofprima
Summary: Daltonverse. Julian doesn't normally go for brunettes but maybe this time, he'll make an exception. Julian/OC friendship and eventual Julian/Logan.


**the red queen (of warblerland) AU Daltonverse**  
>julianoc (friendship) ; julian/logan eventually. tweedles/oc plus most of the canon couples (blaine/kurt, david/katherine, reed/shane and derek/casey)  
><em>julian doesn't normally go for brunettes but maybe this time, he'll make an exception.<em>

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><p><strong>Warnings : <strong>Tackles a few sensitive topics. No sexual scenes and nothing explicit. Just…dark themes I guess.**  
>Disclaimer : <strong>I don't own Glee. Or Dalton by CP Coulter. This is just me "borrowing" her characters. :) The Dalton boys and the Dobry girls are not mine. They're CP's. And as we all know Kurt, Blaine, David and Wes are all RIB's. Prima is also CP's, this is just me monumentally screwing up with its layout. XD Sophia's the only one that's mine.  
><strong>AN: **This is entirely based off on CP Coulter's Dalton but goes AU a _lot _of times. Let's just say that these are some of the "deleted scenes" from a couple of chapters, most notably Chapter 23 of Dalton which includes the Valentines' Day Fair. I must point out to you that I _am a hardcore_ Julian/Logan shipper so everything between my OC and Julian is purely platonic. (Though I am immensely curious as to how Julian would act if he was in a relationship with a girl.) Sometimes, all you need is a female's perspective in things. Also, I am making up a Dobry's girl's schedule as I go. This is set before Shane goes missing. I think. Let's see where this takes us. XD

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><p>It's been awhile since Sophia Mionette Clement-Kingston had been in Windsor's dormitories. The young girl had been quite busy after the Twins' New Year's party and had not been able to sneak out of Prima. It wasn't helping that Hope, their House Leader, had doubled her surveillance ever since she caught Sophia sneaking back <em>in <em>after one of her quick visits to Windsor. (This just proves that the safest way back to her room is by climbing that tree that had a branch that hung low – low enough to nearly touch the railing to her balcony and _never _through the front door. _What was she thinking_?) Since then, it was like the older girl was a magnet to Sophia's metal. In fact, if it wasn't for that sedative that she slipped in her water bottle…

…well, the point is that if ever she was accused of doing such a thing, she will deny it vehemently. _You can't prove anything_, she thought with a smile. _You have no proof._

Which was why she was standing at the grounds by Windsor House, contemplating if she should risk a broken window by exhibiting _bad, bad aim_ or a broken neck by exhibiting her rusty gymnastics. (She seriously considered the broken neck considering she did sort of jump out of her balcony to reach a tree branch that was close to her window. The vast difference was that Prima had _balconies_ while Windsor only had windows, which meant that she had something _concrete_ to land on in Prima while nothing but thin air in Windsor. Besides, she was 99.9% sure that their windows were locked. So there was no way in hell that she could possibly enter Windsor through one of the windows unless she broke the window with her body. But that was highly unlikely, and extremely dangerous, so.)

Of course she chose the broken window. No matter how much she loved the Tweedles, (and no matter how irritated she's becoming by their constant flood of messages) and no matter how much she missed them (Skyping is just not enough sometimes – even though she really didn't know why they Skyped in the first place considering they're fifteen minutes apart) she loved her pretty, little neck more.

She searched the ground around for a pebble or something until she saw one that was not too small and not too big. She weighed it in her hands, throwing it in the air before catching it again, as she inspected the variety of windows before her. She usually texted the Tweedles before she came, and one of them was usually waiting for her at the front door while the other stayed in to keep watch but her stupid, clutter-brained self forgot her phone inside her room while she was on the way down through her balcony. She had only realized when she was already in her car, driving her way to Dalton. She decided it wasn't worth going back for – she was more worried about the time wasted, rather than waking a roommate considering she had a single – and just continued her journey towards Dalton. Now, she was worried that it wasn't the right choice because she absolutely _had no idea _which window led to her cousins' (well, actually it was "second-cousins-twice-removed" but now wasn't the time for straight facts) room.

Sophia frowned a bit before closing her eyes and just willed for the higher power somewhere that she would hit the right one. So she bent her arm back and threw the stone with all her might…

…which of course _shattered_ the window she was sort-of-but-not-really-aiming at. (She was sort of hoping that she wouldn't break it. Sometimes the gymnast doubted her strength until it blows up in her face.)

She scrambled to the wall underneath the windows just as all the lights from _all _the windows from this side of the building lit up. There was a flurry of noises, a bunch of undapper curses, as all the windows opened. Sophia dared to glance up – it turns out that it was Blaine's window that she broke – and she didn't know whether to be spooked or to be glad when she saw that the Twins were staring at where she was. She gave them a small wave as they turned to look at one another, blinking away the sleep in their eyes, before turning back to look at her. She could also vaguely see Dwight, pointing his crossbow in the darkness.

"What_ was _that?" Blaine was asking as he searched the grounds for some sign of the intruder. _Please don't look down, please don't look down, please don't look down_, Sophia thought desperately as she clenched her eyes shut. "Sophia?"

_Of course he would look down_, Sophia thought furiously. She took a deep breath as she stepped out in the open. "Hey there, White Rabbit. I haven't seen you in a while."

Blaine only blinked before turning to the twins and giving them the most furious glare he could manage.

* * *

><p>The "Red Queen" of Warblerland now sat in the common room with a blanket around her shoulders, trying desperately to warm her hands – and her body – with a cup of hot chocolate. Ethan and Evan Brightman sat on either side of her, trying to share their body heat with her. She hadn't even noticed how <em>cold<em> she was until Ethan had remarked how her lips were blue and that her teeth were chattering.

Blaine had given them the customary fifteen minutes that he usually allotted every time she got caught inside the Twins' room. It wasn't that they were fooling around or anything - Sophia was disgusted at the thought because even though the Twins were completely good-looking, they _were _still _technically _related (and besides, she basically _grew_ _up _with them – and she knew nearly all of their dark secrets – and the thought of being in a relationship with either of them was completely an alien thought to the three) - because all they spent doing was just talking and studying. And when they were being particularly adventurous, they spent time having a nerf gun fight inside the Twins' room (surprisingly, they never got caught).

"You should have alerted us," Ethan said quietly as he took the cup from her hands after she basically inhaled the whole cup of hot chocolate – not even flinching when the scalding liquid entered her mouth. He placed the cup on the coffee table in front of them.

"I forgot my phone in my room," Sophia told them, thankful that her teeth had stopped chattering. She blew some air into her hands and rubbed them together - trying to gain some more heat for her hands. "I was…I was supposed to call you on the way. I'm sorry."

Evan and Ethan exchanged a look before flinging their arms around the younger girl, startling her. "We missed you," they both said at once. "Warblerland is not the same without its Red Queen."

Sophia laughed softly as she disentangled her arms from underneath their bodies and tried to hug them back, with much difficulty. "I missed you too. I tried to sneak out but Hope latched herself onto me and you know how she gets."

"How did you get away?" Evan asked as they separated, taking Sophia's hands in his and trying to project some heat in her hands by rubbing them continuously.

"Let's just say that those sleeping pills you two gave me when I was having trouble sleeping turned out to have more than one use for me," Sophia whispered to both of them. The Twins stared at her as she stared innocently back.

"You…" Evan started but paused.

"…drugged her?" Ethan continued for him.

"Well, I wouldn't word it like _that_," Sophia told them.

The Twins exchanged a look before bursting into laughter. Sophia gave them both a light shove which caused them to collapse of their sides of the couch, clutching their stomachs.

"Ugh, the lengths I would go through for you," Sophia muttered as she buried her face in her hands, as the twins continued on laughing. She ended up getting one of the throw pillows on the couch and just started to hit them with it. "Stop laughing. It's not funny!"

"Oh Soph," Evan said, still laughing a bit but he was more _subdued_ compared to his brother, who was still doubling over in his laughter. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, trying to get a smile out of her. "I believe we have corrupted your innocence."

"WHOA!" Blaine exclaimed from the one of the armchairs behind the sofa. He was the one who was 'supervising' the twins and the younger girl. He knew he wasn't intruding on anything because everything between the three was purely platonic. Now, he was slowly starting to doubt the accuracy of his assumption. "Please, no mention of corrupting anyone's innocence in here. Or _anywhere_."

The twins muttered something about 'that's not what we meant at all' and 'Blaine and his undapper thoughts' with Sophia trying very hard to stifle her laughter. They stayed like that for the duration of Sophia's fifteen-minute allotment. The Twins filled her in on the situation between Kurt and Blaine plus Shane and Reed earning a few indignant comments from Blaine that the twins ignored. _Something's going on between those two_, Evan has whispered to Sophia as Ethan continued, _have you seen how Reed cried when Shane boarded that plane?_

When their fifteen minutes were up, the Twins desperately tried to beg Blaine to let her stay. _It's so late,_ Evan was telling Blaine as Ethan shielded Sophia from him as if that would prevent her from leaving. Blaine only glared at him until Sophia herself stepped away and followed Blaine out the door. She _loved_ sneaking out, and she loved the Twins, but even she knew when she should go. The Twins scrambled after them, offering – nay, _insisting_ – that they would be the ones to escort Sophia to her car.

"Two is better than one," the Twins told him as they hooked their arms around each one of Sophia's and basically _dragged _her out of Windsor House. The younger girl was still apologizing profusely to Blaine for breaking his window, which he waved away. _A broken window can still be fixed, Sophia_, Blaine told her after the fifth time. He watched with a gentle smile as the Twins chattered away as they walked side-by-side with Sophia, with their best friend not minding at all that she couldn't quite understand what they were saying because they were talking at the same time.

After a few minutes, they had finally arrived to the clearing where Sophia hastily parked her car. Ethan was moaning how unfair it was that she drove a Lamborghini Gallardo while Sophia tried to reason with him saying that _she didn't have a jet_ to which Evan replied with a, "Well, if you would just ask your parents then I'm sure they'll give you one." Sophia snorted, a very un-ladylike action, at that.

"I'll see you two tomorrow," Sophia told them as they stepped back to let her open her car door. "Please try not to seriously injure anyone until then."

"We're not promising anything," the twins said in chorus, giving each other a high-five.

Sophia rolled her eyes and stepped forward, giving both of them a quick kiss on the forehead. She placed one hand on each of their cheeks and rubbed them with her thumb affectionately, a small smile gracing her face. These two were her family, and no matter how many times she wanted to tear her hair out because of them, they would _always_ be her family. Unlike the actual parents she had.

"You're really making it hard for us to _not_ sneak you back in Windsor and make you stay in our room," Ethan said softly, snapping Sophia out of her thoughts.

Sophia smiled faintly at them. "I don't think I'll risk it. I don't think I'll be able to sneak out and return to Prima before five considering how comfy your beds are." She honestly could sleep in their room considering they had two beds and they only slept in one each night. (The twins had a habit of sleeping together in the same bed, not at all comfortable at being separated even in unconsciousness.) But Casey had a habit of bursting unceremoniously in her room – she was an excellent lock-picker – and was like a human alarm clock. Sophia had a bad habit of ignoring her alarm clock at times, even going as far as hurling the damn thing across the room (you wouldn't believe how many alarm clocks she kept as a spare under her bed), so her friends in Prima took it in their hands to wake the younger girl up.

"But Minnie," Evan whined as Sophia scrunched her nose at the sound of her childhood nickname. She promptly dropped her hands from their cheeks at that and made a move to go inside her car.

"_No_," Sophia said, kindly but firmly ignoring their mutters of '_you're not fun' _and '_we missed you' _under their breaths. She gave them a glare over her shoulder which instantly shut them up. "Where will we meet up after-school tomorrow; the museum or the library?"

The Dobry girls were at least allowed to use the bigger library and museum. (The only places that were _strictly_ restricted to them were the boys' dorms.) They would usually roam around either one for a couple of minutes then grab a bite to eat at the school's café. Then at times, if they were feeling particularly bold, the Twins would drive Sophia back to Dobry and watch her dance in the school's dance studio. They would just watch in awe as their best friend dance ballet so gracefully then flawlessly transition into freestyle. She would always pull the Tweedles to their feet and beg them to join her, which – of course – they usually would. (She would just like to point out that she was no Katherine. Kathy was one of her closest friends and her dance mentor. She usually gave the younger girl dance lessons during weekends. She did miss her, terribly so.)

"Library," the twins answered in unison after a beat. Sophia nodded as she slid inside her car. The twins shut her car door but she rolled down her car window signaling to them that they could continue on with whatever they were going to say.

"And of course we'll grab a bite in the café," Evan told her as Ethan quickly added, "Our treat this time! No protests, Minnie! We want to spoil you rotten."

Sophia didn't bother pointing out that they _always _spoiled her rotten, considering more than half of her wardrobe was all due to the twins' generous donations. (The twins pointed out that it was mostly Reed who picked out the outfits – though they were the ones who bought nearly all of it with Reed chipping in a pair of shoes or a bag or a scarf – and that it was mainly because they wanted to pre-approve all of Sophia's outfits. It wasn't that she dressed like a slut – she rarely showed a bit of skin - but the twins were just being cautious. They didn't want guys to get the wrong impression.)

"Then maybe we could watch you dance?" Ethan asked quietly. Sophia raised an eyebrow at him, as if asking '_why do you even have to ask_?'

"I'll see you then, boys," Sophia told them as she made a move to roll her window up. "Now, go on before Blaine starts worrying that you decided to sneak off to God knows where. I don't want to be responsible for your house arrest."

"See you soon, Minnie!" the twins said enthusiastically as Sophia started her car and started driving away.

The twins watched the taillights of the black Lamborghini grow smaller and smaller until they shared a look and sighed at the same time. They turned around and started walking back to their House, completely oblivious of the pair of eyes that followed them.

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><p>Julian Larson-Armstrong had made a habit of sneaking out of Stuart house whenever things particularly got too stressful at the dorm. Sometimes, the atmosphere there could be so stifling that he just needed to get out. He got away with it mainly because their Prefect was too high up in his own world to even check if their rooms were empty. At least, that was what Julian made himself believe – it was easier to believe that Logan Wright didn't care than delude himself into believing that he did.<p>

(Truth was Logan let him get away with it. He wasn't oblivious – he knew when he was being an ass and when he was being too harsh on the actor. So he let him get away with it. Besides, Julian rarely went out too late…returning before most of the noise downstairs had died down.)

Tonight had not been an exception to Logan's…_problems_. Apparently, the Stuart Prefect had been _forgetting_ to take his medications again. Derek had found out and he was thoroughly _exhausted_ (_don't you know how hard it is to be the captain of _both _the rowing team and the football team_? _Do you have any idea how difficult it is to maintain a GPA as high as mine?_) with everything that he just stormed inside Logan's room and started berating him. Of course, it wasn't wise to berate Logan when he was un-medicated. Logan proved this when he basically lifted Derek off his feet and pinned him to the wall. Derek, high on adrenaline and pure anger, fought back. Julian found it his responsibility to stop the fight and ended up taking a punch for Derek. The actor hadn't even fought back. He just shoved Logan off Derek and basically dragged the latter out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He shoved Derek back in his room and ordered him to stay there and get some rest.

Now, he was out here walking it off.

He had rarely done it ever since he came back after Christmas Break (well, after his shoot, actually). Death threats from a psychotic stalker sort of make it hard for him to go out in the night. But today had been too much and he just really needed to take a walk – stalker be damned.

When he reached a clearing between Windsor and Stuart, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He had been walking for a while now and his feet were starting to ache. He leaned back on a tree, trying to get the uncomfortable ache on his legs to pass, and just listened to the silence around him.

He was startled when he heard the faint sound of feet rustling against the ground. He raised his eyes and glanced from behind the tree he was resting against and was stunned to find the Tweedles dragging a brunette girl with them as they chattered away. Julian glanced towards the direction they were walking in and saw a car parked in the clearing. He raised an eyebrow at this. A girl was sneaking out to see the Twins? It was a laughable concept yet there she was, giving both of them quick kisses on the forehead before her hands found their way against the twins' cheeks. The twins looked like they were convincing her to stay but she shook her head, insisting that she wouldn't be able to sneak back in her dorm – _ah, she was a Prima girl_, Julian thought to himself – before the girls got up. (Julian had really good hearing okay. I mean, it's not like he was trying to eavesdrop or anything but it was really quiet and their voices were sort of loud. He wasn't eavesdropping _at all_.) His ears perked up as the brunette girl asked the twins where they would meet after school. He waited for the twins to reply. _Ah, the library_, Julian thought as he made a move to go back to Stuart as the brunette girl – the twins called her Minnie but he doubted that was her name – drove away and the twins made a move to go back to Windsor. _I do need to brush up on my reading._

Julian wasn't a stalker. He really wasn't.

He was just really curious. _Really_.

* * *

><p>"GOOD MORNING!" a cheery voice called as Sophia groaned and buried her head under her pillow. "Come on Soph. Wakey-wakey. It's time to grace us with your lovely presence."<p>

"Go away," Sophia muttered half-heartedly. She yelped when she felt someone jump on her bed, straddling her, and instantly shot upright on her bed. Sophia groaned even more as another person entered her room and opened her curtains, letting the stream of sunlight enter her otherwise dark room. (The glass door to her balcony had red tinted glass and the tall windows on either side of the said door had red curtains, giving the room a red glow when the sun rose up. Enough light to brighten up the room but not enough to awaken the young girl.) She scrunched her eyebrows together and flopped right back on her bed.

"Come on Sophia!" Sara Tomlin called as she tried to shake her friend into consciousness. Sophia only groaned at her attempts, trying to get the taller girl's hands away from her.

"It is way too early to be this hyper, Sara," Sophia muttered as she finally sat back up again. Sara finally moved off her and settled on the right side of the younger girl's bed while Casey Lambert sat on the other side of the bed. Sophia rubbed her eyes, trying to stay awake. She glanced at her clock and groaned even more as realized that she only had managed to squeeze in five-hours of shut eye.

"It is never too early to be hyper, Sophia," Sara told her, as if appalled by the younger girl's statement. "Now come on. Take a shower so we can go to the kitchen and eat." She then proceeded to slide off Sophia's bed and basically waltzed out of the room.

"What time did you get back?" Casey asked the younger girl, looking pointedly at the hastily discarded jeans, coat and t-shirt near the balcony. (Sophia had been so tired that she just stripped down to the tank top she wore underneath the t-shirt and her boy-shorts, not even bothering to change to her pajamas. She wasn't usually this messy, in fact her room was one of the cleanest in Prima – and that's_ saying _something -, but she was too tired to pick up her clothes and drop them in the clothes bin.) The younger girl blinked blearily at her before letting out a loud yawn. "And how did you even sneak out? I fell asleep downstairs and I would've noticed if you sneaked out through the front door. And you were in your room when I did the rounds. I couldn't wake Hope up. And by couldn't, I mean _literally _couldn't. Damn, that girl sleeps like a log."

"Before midnight, I assure you," Sophia said as she let out another yawn and stretched out her limbs. "I was only with them for barely twenty minutes. I was barely out for an hour because Blaine caught us. After I sort of broke his window." She paused for a moment. "And I went out through the balcony. I'm a gymnast, Case."

"You risked breaking your neck to sneak out?" Casey asked, a little surprised and disturbed at the same time.

"The branch is near the railing of my balcony," Sophia waved in the direction of the door to her balcony as Casey stood up to check. It was true. The thick branch was nearly touching the railing and if Sophia stood on it, she could easily reach it. "I've done this before, Case. And the twins…well, you know how persistent they can be when they're missing someone. I'm actually really surprised that it wasn't them who sneaked in my room."

"Which doesn't really explain what happened to Hope," Casey said, raising an eyebrow at the younger girl.

"She'll be awake within the next hour or so," Sophia muttered absentmindedly, confirming what Casey suspected. There was a long pause that followed as Sophia raised her eyes to stare at Casey. "…_you can't prove anything_."

Casey only laughed before patting her friend's blanket covered leg. "You better get up before Hope gets up. You know how she can get."

"Can't I just skip class?" Sophia groaned with a frown. (They both knew that she wouldn't, of course. Sophia could be sick and still get out of bed to attend her classes. Casey would know. She basically had Sophia in lockdown last year when the dancer developed a fever overnight yet insisted that she attend her classes. The Prima girls vehemently denied this request.)

"We all know you wouldn't do that, Soph," Casey said affectionately as she opened the drawer to Sophia's bedside table and pulled out a medicine bottle. Sophia sighed, pulling her knees close to her chest, as Casey urged her to open her hand – which she did – and dropped a single pill on her open palm. Sophia popped the pill in her mouth and drank from the water bottle that Casey offered. Then Casey put the medicine bottle back where she got it. "See you downstairs."

Sophia only smiled and nodded at her, waiting until the older girl was out of the room before reaching inside her mouth and picked the tiny pill that she hid underneath her tongue. She got a bit of tissue from her tissue box and wrapped the pill in it before standing up and throwing it in the trash.

Sophia wasn't like Logan, despite what Nadia tells her. (Though at times she wishes she was just to tear out that girl's hair or something. And then she could totally blame it on one of her '_episodes_'. She completely gets that she wants to be perfect and everything but she didn't have to be a bitch about it.) She doesn't fly off the handle like him nor does she have anger issues. She doesn't pin people against walls or throw them against furniture. (The Twins talk too much about Logan sometimes, it's disturbing.) She doubted she had that kind of strength anyways.

What she does though is sleep for fifteen hours straight, miss dance rehearsals to cry alone in her bed (and at times purely because she can't find the strength to get out of bed), conveniently forget to eat and just snap at people with no apparent reason. Drinking her pills helped a lot – in fact, the pills gave her the illusion that she was normal again - but she considers it as an act of cowardice. She felt that every single time she drank her medication, she was showing weakness against her own emotions. She was using the easy way out. She could basically feel her body pumping in "happy hormones", as she liked to call it, in her brain. And she hates it. She hates the pill-induced happiness. She _hated _it.

To be honest, she only drank her pills whenever she knew that she wouldn't be able to hang around the twins. Their hyper-ness was _contagious_ and that feeling of un-medicated happiness was everything Sophia wished for ever since she developed this…illness. She already cheated once last night. (To be fair, visiting the twins last night was an act of impulse so she really didn't know.) She refused to be in her 'happy hormone' haze when she spends her time with her best friends in the whole world. She wanted it to feel _real_. And the twins never fail to disappoint.

The brunette sighed as she leaned back on her desk, picking up a single picture frame that was on it. Her fingers brushed through the face of the boy who had his arm around her shoulders in the picture. _Oh Nate, _she thought with soft sigh as she brushed away the traitorous tears that fell from her eyes with her free hand. _I'm so sorry. I miss you so much._

With another sigh, she placed the frame back on her desk and made a move towards her bathroom – undressing along the way and dropping the sticky clothes in the clothes bin. She let the water heat up a bit before stepping inside. She could almost feel the familiar ache in her chest as she stepped inside the shower, flinching a bit when the hot water hit her raw skin. Oh how she missed the pain that grabbed her heart and squeezed tight. How she missed the never-ending feeling of emptiness and loneliness.

_It's going to be a long day._

* * *

><p>"You're uncharacteristically quiet," Sara remarked to Sophia as they all sat down in their regular table at the cafeteria. When the younger girl didn't reply, Sara nudged her shoulder with hers. This snapped Sophia out of her thoughts. "Soph, you okay?"<p>

"Hm? Yeah," Sophia said quietly. Casey raised an eyebrow at this. Usually, whenever the dancer was medicated, she would have been in a very chipper mood. Yet she was acting exactly like how she acted before she got help for her _problems_. Somber. Quiet. Reserved. "Just a little tired." To prove this, she tried to yawn but it sounded so fake – even to her own ears.

"Hey guys!" Hope greeted, sitting beside Casey. The three girls murmured their hellos. "I can't believe I feel asleep before I made the room checks." She made a move to smack her forehead with her palm. "I was wondering if any of you did the rounds for me?"

"I did," Casey said, glancing quickly at Sophia. She raised an eyebrow when the latter seemed to be out of it again. "Everyone was in the House after curfew." That was sort of true. When Casey did the rounds, Sophia was still in her room, studying. The only problem was that she sneaked out after an hour.

"Hey, Hope?" Sophia said, talking to the older girl. Hope turned her attention to Sophia, raising an eyebrow – urging her to go on with whatever she wanted to say. "I was wondering if I could go to the library after school hours."

"Of course," Hope said as she returned to eating her salad. Sophia's face lit up at that. "But only if I get to supervise you. Wouldn't want you to sneak out again."

At this, Sophia felt her temper flare up. "God, Hope, what am I? A prisoner on house arrest? Why don't you just put a tracking device on me? Don't you know how tiring it is to have you on my tail at all times? You know what? It's not just tiring. It's purely offensive! I broke the rules, fine but don't act like none of you have ever done it before."

After she finished, she was breathing heavily. The girls were staring up at her in disbelief, surprised that she lost her cool. Hope looked a little hurt and offended. Sara was looking at anywhere but at her and Casey was looking at her with worried eyes. "Oh my God, Hope." She buried her face in her hands as her face flamed up. "I am so sorry."

"It's okay," Hope muttered as she raised her eyes and gave the younger girl an assuring smile. "I guess I could just drop you off at the library then come back for you after you spend time with the twins. Just call me. And don't stay out too late. Be back before curfew. I can see how awkward it is to have me as the third – well, fourth – wheel."

"Thank you," Sophia murmured before turning back to her food, which she barely touched ever since they sat down. She didn't even bother asking Hope how she knew that she was spending time with the twins.

Sara and Casey exchanged a look before standing up. Sophia barely had a bite or two before the two girls hooked their arms around the younger girl's armpits and forced her to stand up. Then they basically dragged her out of the cafeteria, out in the corridor and let go of her.

"Sophia, did you swallow that pill I gave you?" Casey asked, standing in front of the younger girl with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Of course I did," Sophia replied, refusing to look at either of them in the eye.

"Lies!" Sara exclaimed. Sophia raised her eyes at that. "Sophia, you have been so out of it ever since Art History. And that's your favorite subject!"

"That's not true," Sophia objected weakly. "I took notes."

"But you were barely…_there,_" Casey said, exasperated as she threw her hands in the air. "Soph, you can't keep doing this to yourself. It's not your fault. Even Nate…" Sophia flinched at the sound of his name. "…would've agreed."

Sophia was about answer, feeling the irritation bubble up in her chest (great, another confirmation to them that she didn't drink her pills), but was thankfully saved by the bell. Mentally thanking herself for not taking her shoulder bag away from her body, she rushed past her two friends but not before turning around and saying, "I took my pills, you guys. You shouldn't worry too much. I'll see you guys later."

Casey pursed her lips as she watched Sophia disappear into the crowd. Sara reached out and patted her shoulder awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. "Ugh, she can be so…so…_frustrating!_"

"She's trying, Case," Sara said softly as her eyes looked in the direction where Sophia went. "She's trying real hard."

"But it's not enough. It's not enough."

* * *

><p>Julian rushed to the library after his classes were done. He looked around the library to see any sign of the girl he saw the night before. He saw plenty of Dobry girls, some were giggling and gossiping (why are they gossiping inside the library?) while some were actually studying with stacks of books on the tables in front of them.<p>

His eyes roamed through the tables, pausing every once in a while to glance at a pretty blonde, and searched along the small corridors between the bookcases for any sign of her.

He didn't even know why he bothered looking for her. Sure, she was pretty and there was the added allure of her being forbidden considering was a friend – girlfriend? – of the twins but other than that she was nothing special. She was just another ordinary Dobry girl.

He was about to turn around and walk out of the library when he finally found her.

She was alone, skimming through the books on the bookcase. She glanced at a piece of paper in her hands before glancing right back up at the books. Her Dobry blazer was tied around her waist and the sleeves of the white blouse that she wore underneath were rolled up to her elbows. Her tie was loose around her neck and the top two buttons of her blouse were undone. She kept her chestnut brown hair in a bun with a few stray curls framing her face. She pushed her glasses up to the bridge of her nose, as she glanced back at the paper in her hand. Her bag lay forgotten along her feet and she kept glancing on the watch on her right wrist. Seems like the twins haven't showed up yet.

She was startled as her phone made a buzzing sound inside her bag. She crouched down, stuffing the paper inside one of the pockets of her bag, and reached inside for her phone. She straightened up as she removed her glasses with one hand and folded them on the neckline of her blouse. Her eyes skimmed through the text message that she received and Julian could see her posture faltering slightly. He saw her shoulders slumping in disappointment as she let out a soft sigh and typed out a quick reply before dropping her phone inside of her bag. She was clearly disappointed with whatever the text message contained because she leaned back against the bookcase and pinched the bridge of her nose, willing herself to stay calm.

_Maybe the twins cancelled_? Julian thought to himself as he crossed his arms across his chest, leaning against one of the bookcases on one shoulder. He was surprised that the brunette hadn't noticed his presence yet. But maybe she was too upset to notice him. She was knocking her head back against the bookcase, again and again and again.

"Are you going to keep staring at me or are you going to introduce yourself?" Julian blinked at the voice that he heard. The voice wasn't annoyed, in fact she sounded a little amused. He seemed to have zoned out or _did she actually talk to me_? The brunette girl was reading a book that was in her hands – when did she get that book? – making no sign of acknowledging his presence again but after a few seconds, she raised her eyes to look at him with a soft smile on her face.

He opened his mouth to reply but he absolutely had no idea what to say. She raised an eyebrow at his silence. She spent a few moments studying him until Julian could see the recognition flashing through her eyes. He was preparing for her to tackle him to the ground, squealing about Something Damaged and asking for his autograph but _nothing_.

"Well, Mr. Julian Larson," she said instead as she closed the book she was reading and returned it to where she got it. "Is there any reason you're _gawking_…" Julian opened his mouth to protest at that. "…don't deny it, you're gawking…" Julian frowned at that but couldn't help but smile a little at her bluntness. "…at me? Because I don't know how it works in Hollywood but over here, staring is sort of rude." She didn't say it with any sort of rudeness but just pure honesty and curiosity.

He stared at her for a couple of seconds more – oh look at that, she has blue eyes – before looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. He honestly didn't know why he was watching her. (Oh wow, that sounded creepy.) He didn't even know that he was actually watching her. He just…zoned out. _Honest_. As he looked back at her again, that small smile was still on her lips as if she was encouraging him that she would accept any explanation he has to give. He was slightly startled when that smile turned into a worried frown as her forehead scrunched. It was adorable, but he didn't know why she looked worried. To distract her, and himself, from those worried eyes he said the one thing that popped inside his head.

"Coffee?"

She blinked at him as if she was contemplating if he was serious. It was late in the afternoon. _Who drank coffee at this time of the day_? Well, Stuarts did but they thrived on espresso. And Stuarts were anomalies of nature. Julian mentally kicked himself at his stupidity but she surprised him by laughing softly. _Great_, he thought with a frown. _Now she's laughing at me. _A flash of irritation bubbled up inside his chest. No one laughed at Julian Larson. that irritation soon vanished as she responded.

"Sure. Why the hell not?"

* * *

><p>The twins were running late. And Sophia was getting worried. The twins made sure that they were never late. If anything, they were always the ones who were waiting for her.<p>

She was distracted, even she can see that. She could barely concentrate enough to find the books that she needed for her English homework. She didn't even know why she was so keen on using books when she could just look it up in the internet. It saved her a lot of time.

_But I don't want to look it up on the internet, _Sophia thought to herself. _I like reading books_.

She was also distracted enough not to notice the boy who was looking – well, _staring_ – at her. She sighed as her glasses slipped down her nose again. She pushed it up and went back to looking for the books that she was supposed to get.

She was startled a bit when her phone buzzed inside of her bag. She hastily crouched down and stuffed the list inside of one of the pockets her bag – giving up on searching for those books because she was sure she wouldn't be able to read them in her state of mind – while she reached inside and retrieved her phone. She brightened up when she saw that it was from Evan. If the vibration from her phone a second later was any indication, she figured that she got another one from Ethan.

**To: **Red Queen  
><strong>From: <strong>Tweedle**-**Dum

MINNIE! Please don't be mad but Ethan and I can't come today. We're sorry! We'll try and make it up to you some other time. Things are hectic in Windsor right so please understand. Don't hate us. We're really sorry. :(

She seriously considered not replying and giving them the cold shoulder but that would leave the impression that she was mad at them. And the twins hated it so much when she was mad at them that they would spend more time than necessary thinking of ways to make her forgive them. She didn't want that. She didn't want them to worry at all.

**To: **Tweedle-Dum ; Tweedle-Dee  
><strong>From : <strong>Red Queen

It's alright. But next time, I expect you to spend so much time with me to the point that I'll be sick of being around you. ;)

After she pressed send, she dropped her phone inside of her bag with another sigh. She took off her glasses and folded it against the neckline of her blouse as she pinched the bridge of her nose – willing the tears not to come. She was completely overemotional when she was un-medicated, experiencing more pain and sadness than usual. After a few calming breaths, she leaned back against the bookcase behind her and knocked her head back against it. The pain didn't register so she did it again. And again.

When she opened her eyes – when she finally stopped hitting her head against the bookcase – she was startled when she saw someone was looking at her. She turned to look at him and cocked her head to the side – studying him. His right shoulder was leaning against the bookcase and he had his arms crossed across his chest. Based on his lack of response by her staring and by the expression on his face, she assumed that he zoned out. Smiling a little, both flattered and a little creeped out that someone was staring at her, she leaned back against the bookcase again and reached behind her for a random book. Trying to arrange herself to give out that air of casualness, she opened the book and started to fake-read.

"Are you going to keep staring at me or are you going to introduce yourself?" Sophia made sure that her voice sounded light, almost teasing, because she didn't want to offend the boy – whoever he was – nor did she want to embarrass him. She raised her eyes to look at him with a soft smile on her face, assuring him that it was okay that he was staring. But as she got a good glimpse of his face…_wait, I recognize him_. She didn't recognize him as _the _Julian Larson, star of Something Damaged, though. She recognized him as Derek's best friend – the boy who had been too much sadness in his eyes that he can quickly mask with indifference. She had always thought he was a diva, a prima donna, but the more times that she saw him – while Derek was dating Casey at least – the more that seemed to change.

He seemed to notice the recognition flashing through her face because he tensed up, probably mentally preparing himself for a fangirl reaction. She couldn't help it but Sophia smiled a little sadly at that. Being a teen actor was probably rough, having to deal with groping fangirls and all.

"Well, Mr. Julian Larson," Sophia said with a slight lilt to her tone. She had closed the book that she was reading – well, _fake reading_ – and made sure to return it properly. "Is there any reason you're gawking…" She hadn't meant to use that word with malice, really. She could see him opening his mouth, probably to protest at that but she cut him off before he could even speak. "…don't deny it, you're gawking…" Again, no malice intended at all. She was just stating a fact. But she certainly did not miss the slight frown that appeared on the actor's face or the small smile that appeared afterwards. This nearly caused her to stumble over her words. Actor or not, Sophia can't deny that he was_ very _good-looking. "…at me? Because I don't know how it works in Hollywood but over here, staring is sort of rude." Okay, that sounded bitchier than she wanted but she can't help it.

He kept quiet for a couple of moments, studying her carefully. Sophia couldn't help but blush a little at his stare. After a couple of seconds, he looked away and rubbed the back of his neck, a slightly shy expression on his face. Sophia was a bit surprised at that. She knew the older boy had rarely let his wall of indifference down. It was so _different _seeing him with something other than indifference on his face. When he looked back at her again, she offered him a small smile – telling him that it was okay to stare at her. _Really_. But as she studied him more carefully, she was slightly startled and worried as she saw the darkening bruise on his jaw. Julian didn't seem to be the type to get into fist fights which meant that…

"Coffee?"

Sophia blinked at him, a bit surprised because she was so focused on that bruise on his jaw. She knew from the twins that the Stuarts loved coffee but it was late in the afternoon. Did people even drink coffee at this time of the day? Though Sophia could argue that the weather was a bit chilly and she could definitely substitute coffee with hot chocolate or something. She stared at him, loving the way that his expression morphed from shyness to mortification. She didn't mean the laugh to escape her lips, but it was too late to take it back. She panicked a little when she saw the slight irritation on his face, probably misinterpreting her laugh.

She weighed her options carefully in her head. She could turn down his offer and study in her room, miserable because the twins cancelled on her or she could accept his offer and spend time trying to figure the puzzle that is Julian Larson out. (And like she said, actor or not, Julian was very good-looking. Hey, her mentality was that she didn't _date _actors. This wasn't necessarily a date. It was just two individuals going out for coffee.)

"Sure, why the hell not?"

* * *

><p><strong>Sneak Peek: <strong>"Julian?" Sophia asked the actor softly. Julian hummed a little, indicating that he was listening to whatever the younger girl had to say, as he took a sip from his coffee cup. "Why did you ask me out if you play for another team?"

**A/N: **Okay, Julian is _hard_ to characterize. The Dobry girls are fun to write. And I would just like to apologize beforehand for the major screw-up I'm committing against CP's timeline. XD And your comments will make my day.


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